| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Owl's Head, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Lincoln Woods Trail, Black Pond Trail, bushwhack, Lincoln Brook Trail, bushwhack, Owl's Head Path |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Sunday, March 4, 2018 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plenty of parking at Lincoln Woods. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Ice - Black, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction, Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Most water crossings are either open or partly open -- but none are an issue. The two main crossings of note on this route, in particular the one over Lincoln Brook, are only partially ice-/snow-bridged, but water levels are low, and there are plenty of exposed rocks for hopping across. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Nothing of note. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
We decided to head back to Owl's Head and finish what we did not complete last month.
With the exception of a half-mile portion of the (Brutus) bushwhack on Owl's Head, conditions are much easier and faster than a few weeks back, when we were breaking trail for much of the way.
In the morning, everything up to the Brutus bushwhack was firm crust with a bit of granular churn on it -- light traction worked fine. Quite a few hard/firm postholes on some sections of the entire route, but mainly easy to avoid. (There are a few sections of muddy bare ground on both the Black Pond and the Brutus bushwhack.)
Midway up the Brutus bushwhack, where the track climbs steeply, the route became quite icy, and while light traction worked on the way up, we could have easily used something a bit more substantive for traction on the way down. This continued until the route began its straight approach to the ridge. Once on the ridge, the snowshoes that had been hitching a ride all day were useful -- while there is a mostly-packed route to the summit, it's very narrow and soft in some spots, with some deep postholes, and obscured by a few inches of fresh snow.
Conditions had softened considerably on Lincoln Brook/Black Pond on the way out, but light traction was still fine. By day's end on Lincoln Woods, though, there was so much soft churn atop the packed trail that snowshoes were easier/faster.
With the snow dump forecast for later this week, this report will be out of date. |
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 | Name: |
Pancks and Tesco Heaney |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2018-03-05 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
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